Packaging for consumer products often serves multiple purposes. For example, the packaging may describe the product located within the packaging, communicate the manufacturer of the product, and provide a convenient method for transporting multiple products. Additionally, packaging may provide navigational cues to assist consumers in finding their products quickly and easily.
Packaging may also provide some discretion to consumers. This is particularly desirable with feminine hygiene articles, incontinence articles, and the like where discretion is prized. For example, when consumers have personally sensitive conditions like incontinence, they may have a heightened need to keep the condition private and discreet. This need for privacy and discretion extends beyond the product to the packaging and to the merchandizing of the product.
However, despite this need for discretion, most packaging for personal care articles is easily recognized because of the familiar shape, color, and look of the packaging. Often there is a tension between the need for discretion and the desire to attract the consumer's attention to the product and the desire to assist the consumer in selecting the proper product type and size. In other words, the need for discretion must be weighed against the need for easy consumer navigation. Some past efforts to address this balance have included a strong focus on the navigational aspects through the use of simple and bold graphics at the expense of discretion. A second approach has focused on concealment by attempting to blend the packaging materials into the surroundings through simple camouflage (i.e., similar print patterns). However, this approach may make navigation more challenging. The third general approach has been the use of transformable packaging wherein the identifying navigation features are prominent on the shelf but are later obscured or removed through various means such as physical removal of the navigation panel. However, this approach may be more costly and may be inconvenient to the consumer. Thus, there still exists a need for packaging that disguises the look of the packaging and reduces the prominence of the navigation panel while still allowing the consumers of these products to efficiently navigate the category.